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PILOT’S

GUIDE

34

STRIKE FINDER

DIGITAL WEATHER AVOIDANCE

Cell Stretch

All spheric displays have the property of

cell stretch

—a trailing effect of

dots from a storm cell in a radial direction,

(see Figure 28)

. This

phenomenon occurs when mapping strong disturbances.The

strike dots

simultaneously trail outward and inward away from a storm

cell.

It is

caused when multiple strikes of varying degrees of strength are detected
within the same storm cell and plotted in a linear pattern according to their
intensity. The amount of cell stretch is dependent upon the severity of the
storm—the more severe, the more cell stretch. Nonetheless, sufficient
‘normal’ strikes will occur for detection of the storm center.

Figure 28. Cell Stretch

In short range views cell stretch might intrude and appear as building cells
within the selected range view.

Zoom

to a long range view to detect cell

stretch of distant storms.

The trailing

strike dots

in cell stretch do not necessarily show the actual

location of the lightning activity. Strike Finder uses elaborate lightning
positioning algorithms to alleviate cell stretch.This process reduces the cell
stretch pattern, and by that, greatly improves interpretation of storm cell
location.

Strike Finder should not exhibit significant cell stretch with every storm. If
this occurs, suspect interference from another electronic device on-board
the aircraft.

(see Appendix A, Troubleshooting, p.51)

.

Strike Finder Pilot's Guide fix 9/19/05 10:59 AM Page AM

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Summary of Contents for STRIKE FINDER

Page 1: ...Strike Finder Pilot s Guide fix 9 20 05 7 28 AM Page C www insightavionics com ...

Page 2: ...Drawing 2000 01 Revision 2 0 April 1997 Strike Finder Pilot s Guide fix 9 19 05 10 58 AM Page F ...

Page 3: ...tus Annunciator 10 Zoom In Zoom Out 11 Zoom Indicator 11 Zoom Limits 12 Time Travel 12 Clear Display 13 Dealer Mode 14 System Reset 15 USING STRIKE FINDER 15 Introduction 15 Flight Planning 15 Course Selection 16 Display Interpretation 16 Long Range View 17 Short Range View 17 Factoring Zoom 17 Display Zoom Interpretation 19 Caution and Danger Areas 21 Effect Of Wind Drift 23 ASSESSING STORM SEVER...

Page 4: ...r Mass Thunderstorm 42 Severe Thunderstorm 42 Squall Line Thunderstorm 42 HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS 43 Lightning 43 Downburst 44 Wind Shear 45 Tornado 45 Hail 46 Airframe Icing 46 WEATHER AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS 47 Strike Finder System 47 Strike Finder Advantages 47 Weather Radar 48 Precipitation Rate Table 49 Radar Advantages 49 Radar Disadvantages 49 Attenuation 50 Limited Antenna 50 APPEN...

Page 5: ...s The best application of all such devices is to find the best routes clear of weather threats The Strike Finder mission is exclusively avoidance Warning Insight Strike Finder Weather Mapping System is not intended for thunderstorm penetration There is no instrument available that will allow you to safely navigate into a thunderstorm Warranty Insight Avionics Inc s Strike Finder Weather Mapping Sy...

Page 6: ... Description The Strike Finder Sensor routinely receives the electromagnetic signals emitted by lightning see Figure 1 This information is amplified and conveyed by a shielded cable to the Display where the advanced technology of Digital Signal Processing analyzes the severity and location of the thunderstorms The ultra bright LED display plots the information as strike dots and cells in one cohes...

Page 7: ...tning activity see Figure 2 Figure 2 Typical Weather On 200 nm Range View Bearing and Range Storm distance and bearing can be determined by using the Outer Range Ring and the Half Range Ring in conjunction with the 30 degree Azimuth 1 00 and 11 00 markers see Figure 4 The Outer Range Ring is the outer boundary distance from your aircraft that strike dots are plotted in the selected range The Half ...

Page 8: ...rs the performance of the entire system from the Sensor to the Display for proper function Sensor The maintenance free Sensor is weather sealed and mounts on the outside of the aircraft fuselage Strike Finder unlike any other system uses Broad band Digital Sampling A greater bandwidth delivers vastly more information for improved signal fidelity and inherently superior noise rejection This transla...

Page 9: ...e Data is plotted on the display as bright orange dots to indicate the location range and severity of detected lightning activity Range Indicators are used to show the current viewing range selected They indicate the distance from the aircraft to the outer range ring Range Cursor highlights one of the four range indicators to show selected range view defaults to 200 nm Clear Display Button Range I...

Page 10: ...vity into a one minute presentation Clear Display Button clears the display of all dots but does not erase the strike data history employed by the Time Travel function OPERATING PROCEDURES Strike Finder is easy to use Only four buttons control all of its functions because many features are automatic Perform a pre flight check of all the Strike Finder functions to obtain a working knowledge of the ...

Page 11: ...ockwise in the four positions as shown in Figure 5 to affirm the successful completion of each test So long as the Test Status Annunciator is present you can be confident of Strike Finder s weather depiction capabilities Strike Finder performs this system test by sending a very small precise test pulse imitating lightning strike data from the Display through the shielded harness to the mounted Sen...

Page 12: ...ike Finder is capable of 25 50 100 and 200 nm range views The two center buttons control display zoom see Figure 6 Depressing the Zoom Out button increases the range setting Depressing the Zoom In button reduces the view of the display to the next shorter range A display of shorter range provides a magnified and more detailed picture of storm activity As the aircraft approaches an area of thunders...

Page 13: ...se might not be obvious because of random strikes It also paints a dynamic picture of thunderstorm life cycle and movement Time Travel amplifies indications that may be slow vague and unrecognized in real time perspective Starting Time Travel When suitable storm history data is available depressing the Time Travel button will start the time lapse presentation The Test Status Annunciator indicates ...

Page 14: ...manually return to normal operation by pressing and holding in the TimeTravel button then press the clear button and release both together Clear Display Figure 7 Clear Display Button The Clear Display button clears the display of all strike dots but does not erase any strike data history employed by the Time Travel function see Figure 7 Strike Finder will immediately plot new lightning activity on...

Page 15: ...als and include the four cardinal points The outer circle of dots must be located halfway between the inner and outer range rings The inner circle of dots encompasses the walking dot near the center of the display Using the Zoom in and Zoom out buttons to change ranges ensure that these dot circles are repeated on each of the 50 100 200 nm ranges The dots zoom off scale on the 25 nm range With dot...

Page 16: ... a knowledge of thunderstorms and their hazards A mere understanding of the features and functions of Strike Finder is not enough to ensure safe piloting Anyone who endeavors to fly in regions of severe weather must have a thorough understanding of thunderstorms their characteristics and hazards see Weather Avoidance Concepts p 39 Flight Planning Before embarking on any flight careful preparation ...

Page 17: ...verhang area of most storms Some storms are so tall that all aircraft must circumnavigate them Flying Under Flying under storms is tempting at times Even severe storms can lure the unsuspecting pilot with a seemingly bright clear path underneath LOOK OUT What looks harmless is actually the inflow path of the storm It can ingest an aircraft of any size Even with gear and flaps down and engine power...

Page 18: ... more attention to it at short ranges This is apparent when zooming from 200 or 100 nm to the 50 or 25 nm one dot becomes four dots Likewise a small cell becomes a much larger cell Typically if a cell in the 200 nm range view has 4 dots it will have 16 dots after you zoom to the 25 or 50 nm range view Factoring Zoom Figure 10 A and 10 B shows the transformation of a single dot and a small cell whe...

Page 19: ...s there will be more than one strike per displayed dot while in the long range settings When zoomed in to 50 or 25 nm Strike Finder will display more than four dots as shown in Figure 11 In fact under severe conditions four or more dots are common Single dot in the 100 or 200 nm range view comprised of multiple lighting strikes zoomed to 50 or 25 nm transforms to more than four strike dots Cluster...

Page 20: ...amples Figure 13 16 p 19 20 demonstrate the Zoom feature to show the relationship of viewable area between the four range views and the effect Zoom has on strike dots Figure 13 shows the Strike Finder display in the 200 nm range view Three strike areas are plotted a small cluster at 11 00 another at 1 00 and a single strike dot at 4 00 Figure 13 Display at 200 nm Range View 125 000 sq miles Figure...

Page 21: ...is maintained relative to the aircraft through all range settings as shown by the outward movement of the strike dots When zoomed to 50 or 25 nm range view Figure 15 and 16 the strikes are displayed by a four dot cluster see Factoring Zoom for additional information p 17 Note Images are Not to scale and are Not to be used for navigation Figure 15 Zoomed to 50 nm Range view 8 000 sq miles Figure 16...

Page 22: ...ghtning discharge Long Range 200 nm 100 nm When the display is zoomed to the short range settings 25 or 50 nm the DANGER area expands In the 25 nm range view the DANGER area fills the entire display Storms plotted while in this range are considered too close for safe flight Short Range 50 nm 25 nm Figure 17 CAUTION and DANGER Areas Note these colored areas as graphically shown do not and will not ...

Page 23: ...ger with many more dots and the Danger area will extend to the Outer Range Ring see Figure 17 p 21 Danger Area Lightning activity plotted within the red DANGER area 30 degree azimuth left or right of your flight path should be thought of as dangerous activity You must divert from your present heading to a heading that will allow you to safely circumnavigate the storm To achieve a safe flight path ...

Page 24: ...lay and deviation planning Table 1 Wind DriftTable Note Storms may or may not be experiencing the same wind drift as the aircraft For example Frontal Thunderstorms are influenced by two different air masses with an associated frontal wind shift With Light or No Wind Figure 18 p 324 shows the Strike Finder CAUTION and DANGER areas and the effect of a strong cross wind on a 200 kt aircraft One activ...

Page 25: ...w does one identify a severe storm Is a single orange dot a storm What does a real threat look like The Strike Finder system shows the relative amount of lightning activity within the thunderstorm cells Pay close attention to the strike dot accumulation rate as a location and severity indicator of storm activity Severity Indicators Your first clues to severity should come from your weather briefin...

Page 26: ... strike dots have a persistence or dot longevity of five minutes For severe storms dots remain in the same location for much longer than five minutes If in doubt use the Clear Function and observe the reaccumulation 5 SizeVersus Distance Strike Finder size vs distance display closely follows a radar guideline Events appearing large at significant distance are monstrous when nearby Remember also th...

Page 27: ...ill plot independent strike dots near each other and start to form cells clusters As the number of lightning strikes detected increases so does the cell size Therefore cell size is directly related to the severity of hazardous activity within thunderstorms To assess developing thunderstorms zoom to short range for a better depiction Range Interpretation As Strike Finder is zoomed to shorter view r...

Page 28: ...Advisory Circular Subject Thunderstorms recommends that you avoid by at least 20 miles any thunderstorm identified as severe or giving an intense radar echo Pilots have no direct control over distance but do have complete control of heading Correct heading selection will provide the required storm avoidance angle needed to keep the aircraft a safe distance from any storm activity Figure 21 Weather...

Page 29: ...e angle The following section explains and demonstrates how the One Quarter Rule is used Storms at the Half Range Ring 30 degrees from the aircraft s intended track will have an avoidance distance of one quarter of the Display range For example Figure 22 shows the Strike Finder display in the 200 nm range view Using this knowledge in conjunction with the One Quarter Rule the distance at 30 degrees...

Page 30: ...t use the 25 nm range view for deviation planning Compensate For Wind Drift When flying in cross wind conditions the avoidance angle is affected because the airplane s track and heading are different Figure 23 A B p 30 illustrates conditions likely in the case of air mass thunderstorms Drift Near Air Mass Thunderstorms In the example shown in Figure 23 A p 30 a cross wind blowing the plane away fr...

Page 31: ...ificant wind shift The variable nature of fronts and the wide range of conditions encountered there dictate careful pre flight planning and cautious in flight procedures Numerous powerful storms associated with fronts may make wind conditions unpredictable A line of frontal storms squall line may be impassible give them a wide berth Estimating Distances From Strike Dots Figure 24 A p 31 shows the ...

Page 32: ...be approximately 50 nm left and right from the projected track or 100 nm apart No deviation is required Figure 25 B shows two cell formations in the 50 nm range view Strike cells plotted at the same place are 12 5 nm left and right from the projected track or 25 nm apart A deviation around the storms is recommended not between Figure 25 A 200 nm Range View Figure 25 B 50 nm Range View Storm Cell D...

Page 33: ...nderstorms the two well developed areas may dissipate by the time the aircraft reaches their location If they are severe or steady state thunderstorms they may persist or grow more hazardous Also note the scattered strikes between the two large clusters This may indicate new developing activity or an old cell dissipating The area between the two clusters is unstable and is a hazardous path Suggest...

Page 34: ...ather is too close to the aircraft Thunderstorm activity within the DANGER area Suggested Action ZOOM out to the 100 nm range view to 1 Determine whether this is an isolated cell or part of a larger system 2 To assure that deviating 30 to 45 degrees to the left provides an activity free route More distant activity is not visible on the 50 nm range view Start deviating with a left turn of 45 degree...

Page 35: ...icient normal strikes will occur for detection of the storm center Figure 28 Cell Stretch In short range views cell stretch might intrude and appear as building cells within the selected range view Zoom to a long range view to detect cell stretch of distant storms The trailing strike dots in cell stretch do not necessarily show the actual location of the lightning activity Strike Finder uses elabo...

Page 36: ...For example Figure 29 shows the display depicting a cell at the 3 00 position As the aircraft moves the relative position of the cell changes to the 4 00 position Dot persistence causes strikes at the 3 00 position to remain visible while new dots are plotted at 4 00 Figure 29 Cell Smear Cell smear is most apparent with fast aircraft passing a very active storm at close range Smearing has no affec...

Page 37: ...ng a line of five thunderstorms Two large thunderstorms appear about 150 nm and 175 nm away from the aircraft at 10 30 and 9 30 position A smaller storm appears about 100 nm at 9 30 position Two additional small thunderstorms appear straight ahead just off the intended track about 180 nm off the nose of the aircraft at 11 45 and 12 15 position Aircraft groundspeed is 180 kts Figure 30 200 nm Range...

Page 38: ... the situation and start to develop a plan for deviation around the thunderstorms Planning the Deviation Figure 32 shows that the thunderstorms repositioned on the display zoomed to the 100 nm range view The two thunderstorms ahead appear at 11 30 and 12 45 positioned within the DANGER area The distance between them is about 60 nm Zooming to a closer range will reveal more details about storm seve...

Page 39: ...torms are now 40 nm at 11 00 and 1 00 position It is clear now that a deviation around the thunderstorms must be initiated Deviate Around Thunderstorms Figure 34 shows the display zoomed back to the 100 nm range The aircraft has initiated a deviation around both thunderstorms The Strike Finder system has automatically updated the relative position of all strike dots to the aircraft s new heading F...

Page 40: ...Strike Finder Pilot s Guide fix 9 19 05 10 59 AM Page AR ...

Page 41: ... They usually exist for only a short time rarely over two hours for a single storm The National Weather Service definition of a thunderstorm includes accompanied by thunder and lightning It must produce lightning to be labeled a thunderstorm It must be electrically active Lightning is always present in and near a thunderstorm Thunderstorm Process Thunderstorm development requires three elements 1 ...

Page 42: ...htning are typical hazards that an aircraft could encounter at this stage Mature Stage is reached when the precipitation induced downdraft reaches the ground Heavy rain or hail and in colder areas sleet or snow are driven by strong downdrafts Wind shear lightning and thunder develop as a result of friction between the opposing air currents At this stage the hazards can be devastating for any aircr...

Page 43: ...raft tilts and twists moisture into the upper air support With strong upper atmosphere winds for example the Jet Stream the storm tilts or leans downwind This is evident by the highest portion of the cloud spreading outward downwind and forming an anvil shape see Figure 36 p 43 The water carried upward will accumulate and rain downwind possibly far ahead of the storm s updraft core Consequently th...

Page 44: ... The convective flow of air currents circulating up and down create friction between the opposing air currents The friction causes electrical charges within the thunderstorm to separate Charge separation in the thunderstorm polarizes a region with positive charges at the top intermediate negative charges within the center and with positive charges at the base Since electrical opposites attract an ...

Page 45: ...face temperature The ambient air is exploded into a sonic boom called thunder There are three lightning routes cloud to ground between the clouds and within the cloud Most lightning strikes take place within the clouds or between the clouds where aircraft are defenseless targets Figure 37 Charge Separation Downburst Downburst refers to air coming down from a shower or a thunderstorm hitting the gr...

Page 46: ...w level flight such as taking off or landing In these stages of flight the aircraft s performance is severely degraded beyond its capability to compensate Tornado A Tornado is a swirling column of upward flowing air which is found below cumulonimbus clouds see Figure 38 Wind speeds of up to 180 kts have been recorded Tornadoes typically have a diameter of 300 feet to 2 000 feet although there are ...

Page 47: ... fall or the updraft subsides enough to allow hail to fall to the ground Be distance aware Hail has exited thunderstorms from the long cirrus anvil cloud many miles distant from the storm center Hail paths 20 miles down wind are not uncommon The aircraft in Figure 39 is a frightening example of damage caused by hail Figure 39 Aircraft Damaged by Hail Airframe Icing Airframe icing occurs when the a...

Page 48: ... severity and bearing relative to your aircraft The information is depicted on the Strike Finder display as one cohesive picture of weather mapping Strike Finder Advantages The Strike Finder system and its unique patented processing of lightning signals has some very important advantages over weather radar Digital Signal Processing for high fidelity weather modeling High resolution display for det...

Page 49: ... directional beam of energy in a lateral arc of 90 or 120 degrees in front of the aircraft A portion of the beam energy is reflected by the water droplets and returns to the antenna The precipitation density is measured and then painted on the radar screen as precipitation levels as shown in Table 3 p 49 Strike Finder Pilot s Guide fix 9 19 05 10 59 AM Page BA ...

Page 50: ... could freeze and cause icing In this case you would choose to circumnavigate the rain mass Radar Disadvantages The most obvious shortfall of radar systems is their inability to measure lightning Remember all thunderstorms emit lightning A force that could be catastrophic to any aircraft For example the Cumulus stage of a thunderstorm is usually rain free and therefore will not appear on weather r...

Page 51: ...shield means a wet radome Moisture and ice on the radome will diminish the radar signal In heavy rain it is not unusual for the energy loss to reduce the reception distance of radar to less than several miles Limited Antenna Radar has a limited field of view The radar s antenna must be tilted to assure the radar beam is directed into weather and scans only 60 to 120 degrees of perspective The effe...

Page 52: ...undreds of miles away may look the same electrically as a small spark of minimal amperes a few feet from the sensor This could be produced by something as simple as bad brushes on an alternator or a loose wire Therefore the location and condition of other electrical equipment and wiring relative to the sensor will influence the success of any Strike Finder installation in terms of electrical inter...

Page 53: ...dots a line of dots a scattering of dots or no dots at all Possible loose connections on cable connector conductors XA and XB In most cases this error code is the result of repetitive current noise being inductively coupled into the sensors X andY loops at a sufficiently high rate and amplitude to cause interference with the test pulse This causes the test to fail intermittently Since X0 is the fi...

Page 54: ...f Connect the display to a separate battery and switch off the aircraft master switch If dots continue to appear at the same location the Strike Finder is generating its own dots and both display and sensor must be returned for repair If the display is not plotting dots at this point and the activity number is now stable begin switching on various electrical devices one at a time until the activit...

Page 55: ...connector conductor PF In most cases this error code is the result of repetitive voltage noise being coupled into the sense antenna at a sufficiently high rate and amplitude to cause interference with the test pulse This causes the P channel test to fail intermittently Use the Insight Audio Tester P N 2000 060 to isolate the interference source by switching various electrical equipment on one at a...

Page 56: ...lay and sensor with known good components S Continuous Separation failure in test pulse hardware Return display to Insight for repair B Continuous Non volatile memory failure Return display to Insight for repair Other Symptoms Mirror Imaging Symptom Display plots a real storm cell at the proper location as well as a mirror image or ambiguous cell located 180 degrees away Usually the mirror image c...

Page 57: ... with shipping prepaid if it is still under warranty Note Customer pays the difference for next day shipping If the unit is no longer under warranty customer pays full shipping charges As a Strike Finder owner if you have any concern about the operation of your instrument discuss it first with your dealer Insight Avionics Customer Service can be reached at any of the following numbers Phone 905 87...

Page 58: ...ATURE Display Processor 20 to 55 C 4 to 131 F Sensor 55 to 70 C 67 to 158 F ALTITUDE Display Processor 55 000 feet maximum Sensor 55 000 feet maximum COOLING Conduction STRIKE RANGES 25 50 100 200 nm STRIKE VIEW ANGLE 360 TSO COMPLIANCE TSO C110a RTCA COMPLIANCE Display Processor Environmental DO 160B Category FICAPKSXXXXXXZBABAAA Display Processor Software DO 178B Level 2 Sensor Environmental DO ...

Page 59: ...ed to Strike Finder is all that is required see Figure 42 Description The RBS is powered through Strike Finder circuitry without additional wiring New software algorithms employ data from integrated motion sensors and data processors to determine heading changes No field configuration or calibration is required after factory testing and installation Figure 42 External RBS Snaps on Back Installatio...

Page 60: ...ide 1 40 3 56 cm deep Note This module mounts inside the SF2000 Display and therefore does not affect its outside dimensions EXTERNAL MODULE 2000 051 3 19 8 10 cm high 3 19 8 10 cm wide 1 60 4 06 cm deep Note This positions the SF2000 Display connector 0 80 2 03cm further to the rear MOUNTING Internal Module Integral with SF2000 Display main board SF 2000 Mod D or later EXTERNAL MODULE Interfaces ...

Page 61: ...on for details 5 What is the cause of an X0 error appearing intermittently The X0 error message indicates failure of Strike Finder self test The failure may be temporary or permanent See the Trouble Shooting section for details 6 Is the Strike Finder a Heading up or a North up display Strike Finder is a Heading up display 7 Will Strike Finder slave to an autopilot No it may be slaved to a 400 Hz s...

Page 62: ...les per minute loss of navigation or communication due to streaming corona or arcing noise can be serious especially while maneuvering near airports in instrument conditions Static Discharge Story In the early days of aviation flying was done primarily during daylight by visual reference such as highways railroad tracks and rivers Communication was done by signal lights and wing waggling As the re...

Page 63: ...ved over metal surfaces painted with a high electric strength paint or paint buffed to a high polish In this case charges accumulating on the paint generate streamers from a rivet head or screw fastener Streamering can be solved by coating the non conductive surface with high resistance paint Such paint quietly bleeds the charged particles to the aircraft fuselage Corona Noise This occurs when the...

Page 64: ...tructure grounding strap To locate this problem the aircraft can be probed with an ElectrostaticTest Set while monitoring aircraft receivers for arcing noise When the noise area is identified physical identification can isolate the piece of metal These and other solutions can greatly lessen the effect of environmentally induced noise while in flight During WWII it was necessary to have navigation ...

Page 65: ...PILOT S GUIDE 64 STRIKE FINDER DIGITAL WEATHER AVOIDANCE NOTES Strike Finder Pilot s Guide fix 9 19 05 10 59 AM Page BQ ...

Page 66: ...e on the display with your heading changes As you alter course to avoid thunderstorms Strike Finder depicts the weather relative to your current position Both the motion sensor and the data processor are integrated into one miniature module The module is a self contained solid state gyro less design that can be installed in minutes and will never require adjustment or overhaul Strike Finder Pilot ...

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